CLibertyC

States Put Heat on Bitcoin

"State regulators are warning virtual-currency exchanges and other companies that deal with bitcoin that they could be closed down if their activities run afoul of state money-transmission laws. According to people familiar with the situation, banking regulators in California, New York and Virginia in recent weeks have issued letters telling the companies that they need to follow the state rules or prove that the rules don't apply to them. Similar actions are expected from other states in coming weeks and months, according to people familiar with the matter. States typically require companies to put up a bond that could run as high as several million dollars." Continue reading →

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The Real New Hope for the Global Middle Class

"The idea is that if people protest loudly enough, monopoly government – Leviathan – shall oblige protestors by revealing its inner workings. We know this is possible because a worldwide transparency organization led by a former World Bank executive tells us it will be so. But we have another idea. Much that is going on in the world today is attributable to what we call the Internet Reformation. Around the world, the powers-that-be are struggling to contain its evolution and impacts. In our view, they probably will not be entirely successful. One can orchestrate protests and violence. But one cannot outrun the sociological impact of digital enlightenment." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Real New Hope for the Global Middle Class

Der Spiegel: Public Must Fight against Prism and Tempora Surveillance

"The fact that the Americans and the British -- it is yet to be revealed who else participated -- have granted themselves this enormous power, without ever informing their own people, is a scandal of historic proportions. To the initiated, all the recent public debate about data retention, Internet privacy and the practices of Facebook and Google must have been downright amusing. The state, as it turns out, knew everything all along. The next weeks and months will show whether democratic societies across the world are strong enough to take a stand against the unlimited, totalitarian ambitions of Western secret services -- or not." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDer Spiegel: Public Must Fight against Prism and Tempora Surveillance

Privacy groups push back against Sheriff’s Department license plate database

"The massive storage of license plate and vehicle data by law enforcement agencies across Southern California is sparking a debate over the privacy rights of citizens in their cars. On average, a cruiser equipped with an ALPR camera can collect data on 10,000 cars in a single shift, according to industry reports. A lawsuit filed by two privacy rights groups says each of the 7 million registered cars in greater Los Angeles has had its license plate scanned an average of 22 times since the program launched. The curation of so much information on personal vehicles has raised the ire of privacy groups, which are beginning to push back against the data mining efforts." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPrivacy groups push back against Sheriff’s Department license plate database

Object of Intrigue: Mickey Mouse Gas Mask

"About 1,000 of them were made by the Sun Rubber Company, each with glass eyes staring out from the cartoonish face connected to an air filter. Since chemical warfare never made it to the United States in World War II, they weren't used, but in England there was a British version that used bright red and blue colors to attract children. It was also called a 'Mickey Mouse' gas mask, although had nothing to do with the character. Instead the name was supposed to be part of the 'game' to get children to wear them." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObject of Intrigue: Mickey Mouse Gas Mask

Juan Cole: Top Ten Ways US TV News are Screwing us Again on NSA Surveillance Story (Iraq Redux)

"US television news is a danger to the security of the United States. First, it is so oriented to ratings that it cannot afford to do unpopular reports. Second, it is so oriented toward the halls of power inside the Beltway that it is unable to examine government allegations critically. US television news was an unrelieved cheering section for the launching of the illegal and disastrous Iraq War. Now, corporate television news is repeating this shameful performance with regard to the revelations by Edward Snowden of massive, unconstitutional government surveillance of Americans’ electronic communications. The full failure to do proper journalism was on display on Sunday." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJuan Cole: Top Ten Ways US TV News are Screwing us Again on NSA Surveillance Story (Iraq Redux)

Gold: Dead Cat Or Raging Bull?

"Gold prices are falling, but gold sales are going through the roof – what is the real truth behind these puzzling developments? Is the gold bull market dead, or is the best yet to come? And what are the implications for investors today? TheStreet has partnered with Casey Research to answer these questions – and more – in an exclusive video event focused on the gold debate that's raging across investment communities worldwide." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGold: Dead Cat Or Raging Bull?

NBC: ‘Bitcoin losing shine after hitting the spotlight’

"The old, informal methods of using Bitcoin are dying out: Of the two largest 'exchanges' where Bitcoins are bought and sold, one, Bitfloor, shut down in April following a major theft, and the other, Mt. Gox, is facing potential criminal charges after failing to properly disclose its financial practices to FinCEN, a U.S. regulatory body. FinCEN recently acknowledged 'decentralized virtual currencies' like Bitcoin as being real money, prompting scrutiny. New firms are learning from predecessors, working with regulators and established financial players from the get-go, and structuring themselves in order to handle large amounts of money without meltdowns." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNBC: ‘Bitcoin losing shine after hitting the spotlight’

Is Central Banking Scientific?

"The portrayal of central banking in these sorts of articles is sterile and scientific. You wouldn't know, for instance, that the men who created the plan for the Federal Reserve dressed up in costumes so they wouldn't be found out when traveling down to Jekyll Island for the confab that led to the final proposal. And you certainly wouldn't know of the relationships between them and others in Europe that were backing this sort of plan. The idea that the framers of the Federal Reserve Act would be shocked at the way it turned out is specious. It didn't take but a decade and those empowered by the Act were conspiring with the British to devalue the dollar and prop up the pound." Continue reading →

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Ontario slashes Samsung green energy deal by $3.7 billion

"The cuts will hit a controversial sole-source deal with a consortium led by South Korea-based Samsung Group that offered special financial incentives in a bid to attract investment in renewable energy. The province’s change of heart is partly a response to the backlash over that arrangement – which made electricity bills more expensive – as well as an acknowledgment that Samsung was having trouble holding up its end of the bargain. It is also the latest sign of turbulence in the green-energy industry after the global recession reduced the need for power and an uncertain economy made less costly conventional electricity more attractive than pricey renewables." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOntario slashes Samsung green energy deal by $3.7 billion